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20 Steps to Twoonie Racing

5:33 sunrise22:21 sunset

So I entered the first of CMBC’s twoonie races today. In twenty steps it went something like this:

1. Convince Monika to taunt me around the course by staying in front enough to make me chase her2. Get about 200m down the trail and realize I have made a grave mistake by entering this3. Huff and puff and feel like dying before I even get to the first corner4. Listen to Monika call “Jenn?” in front of me every so often5. Wish that Monika would just ride off into the sunset, away from me and on to certain victory6. Wonder how the hell a 5km lap could possibly seem so far and take so long (about 22-23 minutes)7. Decide that I will most certainly stop after one lap and have a beer8. Hear the cowbell and some cheering as lap 1 came to and end9. Follow Monika and Jane out for lap 210. Announce that I will most certainly stop after two laps and have a beer11. Repeat items 3 through 612. Hear the cowbell as lap 2 came to an end, stop and chat with Monika and Jane13. Feel some sort of weird I-should-have-been-Catholic guilt for not finishing three laps14. Climb back on bike for lap 315. Get passed by crazysuperfast dudes Paul and Jonah16. Repeat items 3 and 617. Get excited knowing that this was most certainly the last lap I would ride18. Get passed by fastbutnotasfast dudes Derek, Aaron and Glenn19. Hear the cowbell after an hour and nine minutes of lung-searing “fun”20. Collect beer glass prize as the only female in my category

So ya, it was actually kind of awful. I suspect that the hard effort is good for me, but it’s not fun feeling slow while also feeling like your lungs are being scrubbed with a wire brush. So I dunno about the next race. It’s on a different – harder, hillier – course. We’ll see what happens when May 22 rolls around.

Local photographer Tim Hogan has very kindly let me post these images on my blog. Here’s what the race looked like through his eyes. Remember to click on the images if you want to see larger versions. They’re great photos so I recommend you look a little closer.

Right off the start I wanted to go slower than my rabbit

Yay a downhill section!

This is what superfastdudes look like. Paul:

Jonah:

Aaaand it’s over. I’m checking out the results sheet with Tony, who set the course.